Indian charged with impersonating US tax official

An Indian-origin man has been charged with pretending to be a US tax official and forcing the victims to pay money to him and his accomplices, according to officials.

Abhijeetsinh Jadeja, 29, of Miami in Florida, made phone calls to his alleged victims making them believe that they owed money to the government and made them send money to bank accounts and debit cards controlled by him and his co-conspirators, Southern Florida federal prosecutor Wifredo A. Ferrer said on Tuesday.

Jadeja was arrested arrested along with an alleged accomplice, Rachel Jean Roragen, 41, on Friday and they face 12 charges, including identity theft, the prosecutor said.

It was not clear if their arrest was related to the crackdown in India last October when at least nine call centres were raided and scores arrested on charges of preying on Americans by pretending to be tax officials.